Empty Calories: High energy food with LOW or NO nutritional value.
This typically includes foods with lots of sugar/sweetners and/or foods with a large amount of fat/oil in them. The problem? When you consume large amounts of empty calories, they fill you up while offering you, your body and your health...nothing. Well except perhaps a headache, low energy, and a few extra pounds!
I wish I could offer you a full list of all of the foods that have empty calories, but there are just too many. The foods that will usually fill you up but leave you nutritionally empty are bakery items, candy, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, highly processed foods, and refined grains (white bread/pasta, etc.). There are more, but these are the biggies.
This may come as bad news to you if these foods comprise the bulk of your diet. However I want to encourage you to take it as good news, because perhaps you can start making some changes today. After looking at that list, you may wonder, what's left to eat??? I'll tell you. Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lower fat dairy, and lean proteins. Give some of those a try this week.
I do realize that Easter is coming up and that many of your homes will be filled with a plethora of empty calories (CANDY!!!). As a human being I also realize that completely cutting all empty calories from your diet is darn near impossible. Eat empty calories in moderation, and make wise and intentional choices when you chow down.
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